2 PONNAN AJA: [1] The principal issue in this appeal is a sentence of life imprisonment imposed on the appellant for a murder he committed when he was 17 years and 7 months old. This brings into question the application of the minimum sentence legislation to offenders under 18. High courts have given conflicting decisions on this issue, which the appeal requires us to resolve. [2] The appellant was convicted, pursuant to his plea of guilty, by Sandi AJ in the High Court at Grahamstown of three charges: murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted robbery. Applying the minimum sentencing legislation (Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997) without regard to the appellant’s age, the trial judge sentenced him to life imprisonment. An appeal against sentence to a full court, with the trial court’s leave, was dismissed. The members of the court differed on the interpretation of the minimum sentencing legislation and its application to the appellant’s case. This further appeal is with the special leave of this Court. [3] At his trial the appellant entered a lengthy plea explanation that indicated that before the events in issue he became a member of a satanic coven in Port Elizabeth. On 12 June 2000 he hitch-hiked to his parents’ home in Hofmeyr, journeying with the express purpose of killing